Can you get tired from just watching a video?
While the raw beauty of Alaska is one of the main reasons tourists flock north each year, there’s always the inkling that you may just witness a different side of nature displayed right before your eyes which fuels the longing to go.
As we’ve seen time and time again, nature is both beautiful and brutal, a delicate balancing act of peace and war that keeps the countless natural systems moving, creating an endless stream of fascinating moments that bring us back to the reality of life outside of man-made environments.
A video that shows both sides of this world comes to us from Lake Clark National Park in southwest Alaska, where a professional wildlife expedition guide named Brad Josephs came upon two giant brown bears squaring up for mating rights.
Most of the time when we see bears fight, it’s a powerful, but short, encounter, with one bear deciding to not risk further injury, but that is not in the slightest what we see in this clip.
Right from the jump, it’s clear these two bears are unhappy with the other being near them. Josephs immediately begins talking his party though what is about to happen while ensuring they stay as safe as possible while two thousand pound beasts are throwing down for a few feet away.
“Now if they break into a fight and it gets too close to us just back up, get the f*ck out of their way. Leave the camera, just leave it. I’ll pop a flare if I have to.
Let’s stay together… they are going to fight.”
As the two bears slowly plod towards each other, the tension builds until the battle begins.
At first, they just stand up and growl, each hoping the other will scamper away, but it’s clear neither one of these giants is going to back down.
Teeth and paws and claws start flying as the bears wrestle and bite each other repeatedly. One gets to the others back and tries to rip some flesh out, sending fur flying through the air.
It seems like one of the bears has the clear upper hand from the jump, able to continuously pin his opponent down and rip at its body, the guide even saying he believed the older and larger bear won, but as the 8 minute long battle continues, the tides begin to turn.
Just when all appears to be lost for the younger bear, he’s able to pop out from under the elder and mounts an attack of his own. It’s clear the older bear is completely exhausted from the fight and perhaps the other’s youth is what ends up saving him.
The video ends before the two break, but it seems like the older is the one walking off, maybe as a sign that his work is done, or maybe as a sign that he doesn’t know what else he can do to this younger bear.
Regardless, Josephs summed it up perfectly with a quote towards the end.
“That’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in mother nature.”
It’s well worth your time to watch this entire thing play out.
Really gives you an understanding of what the reality of this world looks like.
